Scandinavian Water Technology AB Adopts CLEANR’s Award-Winning Filtration Technology to Help Combat Microplastic Pollution from Commercial Laundry
CLEVELAND and MALMO, Sweden; Nov 26, 2025—Scandinavian Water Technology AB (SWATAB), which specializes in sustainable cleaning solutions, has added CLEANR’s new microplastic filtering technology to its patented chemical-free commercial laundering system to stop billions of microplastics from polluting the environment. Laundry wastewater is the world’s largest source of microplastic pollution, accounting for 35% of emissions.[1]
Laundry in washing machines shed millions of microplastic fibers in each load, which eventually flow into our natural waterways and food chains. These plastics are linked to significant human health risks, including heart disease, digestive cancer, reproductive disorders, and autism. Currently, one-third of Europeans consider microplastics in food to be a top food safety concern.[2]
CLEANR’s VORTX filtering technology removes over 90% of microplastics as small as 50 microns from washing machine wastewater before it enters the environment, according to Shaw Institute.
VORTX integrates with SWATAB’s patented DIRO system (see illustration), enabling SWATAB to virtually eliminate environmental threats from commercial laundry services. Instead of relying on chemical cleaning agents, the DIRO system converts tap water into ultra-pure deionized water—a natural and highly effective cleaning agent for professional washing machines.
“SWATAB broke new ground in the cleantech world by eliminating the need for chemical detergents in commercial laundry,” said Terry Moore, Executive Chairman, CLEANR. “With our filter integrated into SWATAB’s system, SWATAB clients can prevent billions of microplastics from entering waterways and the food chain.”
“Public concerns about microplastic pollution are growing rapidly as new research uncovers likely health risks,” said Mats Marklund, CEO of SWATAB. “For us it is a call to action to help our clients reduce emissions. CLEANR’s technology has proven reliable, easy to use, and easy to maintain. We’re proud to offer microplastic-filtering to housing companies, hotels, and other property-owners looking to reduce their environmental impact here and now.”
To capture microplastic particles, CLEANR’s VORTX technology employs a breakthrough process known as “vortical cross-step filtration.” Instead of forcing microplastics against a sieve-like filtering surface, VORTX creates vortices—or tiny whirlpools—in outflowing laundry water that suspend and isolate particles and efficiently channel them away to be captured and disposed of in CLEANR Pods. The design was inspired by the specialized gill structures of manta rays and basking sharks, which allow them to glide through the water and feed passively without clogging their gills.[3]
CLEANR’s patented filter has won numerous awards, including multiple “Best of IFA” awards and a “Best New Product” award from the American Filtration & Separation Society. Currently, the filter is used by U.S. and Canadian consumers and was recently rolled out on the campuses of Case Western Reserve University, University of Akron, and University of South Alabama.
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About CLEANR
CLEANR builds best-in-class microplastic filters for washing machines that effortlessly remove the largest source of microplastics into the environment. Its technology, VORTX, represents a breakthrough in filtration, with a patent-pending design that is inspired by nature and proven to outperform conventional filtration technologies by over 300%. The company is building a platform filter technology that enables product manufacturers and business customers to materially reduce their microplastic emissions from impacted in-bound and out-bound fluid streams, including residential and commercial washing machine wastewater, in-home water systems, wastewater treatment, textile manufacturing effluents, industrial wastewater, and other sources. www.cleanr.life
About Scandinavian Water Technology AB (SWATAB)
Founded in 2013 by the Klöfverskjöld family outside Kristianstad, Sweden, SWATAB has developed and patented a filtering technology that makes it possible to clean and wash without chemicals. Its DIRO filtration system produces ultra-pure, deionized water that makes grease and dirt lose grip on fabrics and surfaces with no need for chemical cleaning agents. DIRO is a concrete example of how new technical solutions can contribute to achieving set environmental goals. It promotes sustainable development, which means that instead of compensating for emissions and energy consumption, we start to reduce them. www.swatab.com
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00650-3; https://health.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/multidisciplinary-team-uc-experts-reports-microplastics-risks-and-policy-landscape; https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35134716/; https://www.efsa.europa.eu/sites/default/files/2025-09/2025%20EB%20103.3%20EFSA%20Report_vfinal.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5I_I5H20-yE; https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms11092